Thursday, May 06, 2010

Mystery Military Choppers = Intimidation, No Matter Who Sends Them

Now both the OST Tribal Council and the Colorado National Guard are saying the choppers that tried to land at Wounded Knee on Sat, May 1, 2010 were not Seventh Cavalry, but were Colorado National Guard.

It took them a few days to tell people this.

Things were further muddled by KOTA TV reporting on May 3 that the helicopters were not from the South Dakota National Guard.

The people on the ground, defending Wounded Knee, calling in what they saw as it was happening, had every reason to assume the worst. The people at large had not been given adequate information or notice, let alone been asked for their consent. People calling in live from underneath the choppers thought they were Seventh Cavalry, which made perfect sense given what little information had been leaked.

As Debra White Plume reported: "A few people present said they heard President Two Bulls on KILI Radio the previous day, asking people to go to Wounded Knee to hear the presentation, but not much information was provided other than that there would be members of the 7th Calvary and National Guardsmen arriving in military air transport."

No matter who sent the choppers, sending American miltary choppers to Wounded Knee is grossly insensitive. They're lucky the protesters were peaceful. As the Lakota are a sovereign nation, this invasion could be seen as an act of war, and some would have chosen to meet it with fire. Thankfully there is now a resolution that the Military will not be allowed to trespass on this sacred site.

People who are unaware of the history here may not understand what it's like to be invaded by a hostile force, or to grow up with the stories of your family members who were murdered by invading military. Try growing up in Wounded Knee, or Belfast, or Palestine. I'm pretty sure you'll see it differently.

When I heard the choppers were coming, I did not think, "Peaceful Visit for a Cup of Tea and Chitchat." I thought, Apocalypse Now. And I know I'm not alone in this.

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Kathryn Price NicDhàna

Gaelic Polytheism, Cultural Preservation, Indigenous Solidarity

Occasional musings from one of the original troublemakers behind the contemporary Gaelic Polytheist (GP) (Gaelic: Ioma-Dhiadhachd Ghàidhealach; Irish: Ildiachas Gaelach) and Celtic Reconstructionist traditions. Allegedly the person to blame for that unwieldy, awkward, misinterpreted and misrepresented, umbrella tradition name (CR), and most definitely to blame for the Nigheanan nan Cailleach agus Ora nam Bandia branches of the community.

Clann Eóghain. Tha mi a fuireach ann Wabanahkik. C0-còrdadh: Kaswhenta. While my family culture growing up was diasporan Gael (Irish/Scottish-American), and my low BQ gives me white privilege / passing privilege, I also have distant indigenous heritage from both Turtle Island (Catawba/Yęh Iswä H'Reh) and Sápmi. I am an unenrolled descendant with Native family and relatives, from both ancestry and adoption. I'm a long-term member of several Indigenous-led collectives, active in Indian Country in largely a backup/support role since the 1980s, and in more recent years in interfaith and political work as both a collective member and as a representative of our GP groups. I don't presume to steer the canoe, even when it's one that my cousins have built and are helming, but except for my fellow Gaels and other diverse relatives, I jumped out of the ship almost a decade ago. I'd much rather swim with the otters, and continue my work with the side of the family I live with now, than get back in, unless it's to sabotage and change the course. I do that sometimes.

I serve on the governing councils of CAORANN and Gaol Naofa; however, all opinions expressed on this blog, and posted elsewhere under my own name on social media, are my own.